Anti-termite infiltration system

ABSTRACT

A method, a system and a device for insulating a conditioned crawlspace beneath a building and protecting the building from termite infestation.

CROSS REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority and the benefit thereof from U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/220,448, filed Jun. 25, 2009, titled “Anti-Termite Infiltration System,” the entirety of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure relates to a method, a system and a device for protecting a building from termite infestation.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Many termite species can do great damage to unprotected buildings and other wooden structures. Termites tend to remain concealed, often resulting in their presence being undetected until the buildings and wooden structures are severely damaged and exhibit surface changes. Once termites enter a building, they do not limit themselves to wood, but eat away at, e.g., paper, cloth, carpets, and other cellulosic materials.

An unfulfilled need exists for a method, a system and a device for preventing termites from entering a building.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

According to an aspect of the disclosure, a method, a system and a device are provided for insulating a conditioned crawlspace beneath a building and protecting the building from termite infestation in the crawl floor. The disclosure provides for, e.g., an inspection area, where termites can be easily detected by visual inspection. The disclosure is configured to prevent termites from travelling up foundation walls.

Initially, a vapor barrier is provided that blocks termites from entering the crawlspace. Secondly, a termite shield is provided at a predetermined height above the vapor shield to prevent termites from climbing up the foundation walls. Thirdly, a Borate treated foam insulation board is treated with pesticide to deter termites. Fourthly, a second termite barrier is provided further above the foundation walls to further prevent termites from the climbing up the foundation walls.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, a method is provided for insulating a conditioned crawlspace beneath a building and protecting the building from termite infestation. The method comprises: covering a crawlspace floor with coarse gravel; covering the coarse gravel with a polyethylene plastic sheeting, wherein the plastic sheet is brought up an interior side of a stem wall and around one or more piers in the foundation. The method further comprises bringing the plastic sheet behind a stud and then fastening the stud and plastic sheet to the concrete stem wall with fasteners at a predetermined height from the crawlspace floor. The stem wall area between the crawlspace floor and the bottom of the stud comprises an inspection area where termites attempting to climb up the foundation (or stem) wall can be easily identified. The method further comprises providing an L-shaped flashing that is configured to hang out to the crawlspace interior over the top of the stud and prevent termites from moving up the stem wall (or pier). The method further comprises attaching, for example, a borene treated R-5 foam insulation board above the L-shaped flashing on the interior side of the stem wall, wherein the insulation board is configured to terminate at the top of the stem wall. The method further comprises installing a metal flashing, for example, above the insulation board, along the entire length of the stem wall, on top of the stem wall. The method further comprises installing a pressure treated sill plate on the top of the metal roll flashing, wherein the sill plate and metal roll flashing are attached to the top of the stem wall with fasteners. The insulation board and the sill plate with metal roll flashing may serve as a second and third precaution against termite infestation.

According to a further aspect of the disclosure, a system is provided for insulating a conditioned crawlspace beneath a building and protecting the building from termite infestation. The system comprises a crawlspace floor covered with coarse gravel; and a polyethylene plastic sheeting covering the coarse gravel, wherein the plastic sheet is brought up an interior side of a stem wall and around one or more piers in the foundation. The system may further comprise a stud fastened to the stem wall, wherein a portion of the plastic sheet is placed between the stem wall and stud. The system may further comprise an L-shaped flashing provided over the top of the stud and configured to hang out to the crawlspace interior, thereby preventing termites from moving up the stem wall (or pier). The system may further comprise a Borate treated R-5 foam insulation board, which may be treated with pesticides to deter termites, positioned above the L-shaped flashing on the interior side of the stem wall and attached to the stem wall, wherein the insulation board is configured to terminate at the top of the stem wall. The system may further comprise a metal flashing that may be installed above the insulation board, along the entire length of the stem wall, on top of the stem wall. The system may further comprise a pressure treated sill plate installed on the top of the metal roll flashing, wherein the sill plate and metal roll flashing may be attached to the top of the stem wall with fasteners.

According to a still further aspect of the disclosure, a device is provided that prevents termite infiltration into building, the device comprises: a plastic sheet that covers a crawlspace floor and a portion of a stem wall; a stud that attaches to a portion of the plastic sheet and the stem wall; and a termite shield provided along length of the stud. The termite shield may comprise an L-shaped metal flashing. The device may further comprise: an insulation board that is attached to the stem wall above the stud, wherein the insulation board may terminate at an edge of the stem wall. The device may further comprise an upper termite shield, which may be positioned above the insulation board.

Additional features, advantages, and embodiments of the disclosure may be set forth or apparent from consideration of the following detailed description and drawings. Moreover, it is noted that both the foregoing summary of the disclosure and the following detailed description are exemplary and intended to provide further explanation without limiting the scope of the disclosure as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure, are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and together with the detailed description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. No attempt is made to show structural details of the disclosure in more detail than may be necessary for a fundamental understanding of the disclosure and the various ways in which it may be practiced.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a crawlspace under a building that includes an anti-termite infiltration system, according to principles of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows a detailed view of a section of a stem wall and a footer of the crawlspace shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a detailed view of a section of a pier of the crawlspace shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 shows a top cross-section view of the pier of the crawlspace shown in FIG. 1.

The present disclosure is further described in the detailed description that follows.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

The embodiments of the disclosure and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments and examples that are described and/or illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. It should be noted that the features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and features of one embodiment may be employed with other embodiments as the skilled artisan would recognize, even if not explicitly stated herein. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques may be omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments of the disclosure. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the disclosure may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments of the disclosure. Accordingly, the examples and embodiments herein should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure, which is defined solely by the appended claims and applicable law. Moreover, it is noted that like reference numerals represent similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

The terms “including”, “comprising” and variations thereof, as used in this disclosure, mean “including, but not limited to”, unless expressly specified otherwise.

The terms “a”, “an”, and “the”, as used in this disclosure, means “one or more”, unless expressly specified otherwise.

When a single device or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that more than one device or article may be used in place of a single device or article. Similarly, where more than one device or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that a single device or article may be used in place of the more than one device or article. The functionality or the features of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more other devices which are not explicitly described as having such functionality or features.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a crawlspace 105 under a building that includes an anti-termite infiltration system 100, according to principles of the disclosure. The system 100 may comprise a plurality of footers 115, a stem wall 120, a vapor barrier 122 (e.g., including a covering of 4″ coarse gravel), a plastic sheeting 125 (e.g., a 6 mil polyethelene plastic), a stud 130, a termite shield 135, a plastic portion 145 (e.g., a 6 mil polyethelene plastic), a insulation board 150, a termite shield 155, at least one pier 175, a termite shield 180, a stud 185 and a termite shield 190. While the studs 130, 185 are shown as being below the termite shields 135, 180, respectively, the termite shields 135, 180 may be provided below the studs 130, 185 (not shown). Additionally, the studs 130, 185 may have termite shields 135, 180 both above (as seen in FIG. 1) and below the studs 130, 185 (not shown).

The system may further include a sill plate 160, a floor joist 165, and a subfloor 170. As seen in FIG. 1, the footers 115 may be placed in, or on top of the soil 110. Further, the stem wall 120 and/or pier 175 may be placed on top of the footers 115 or integrally formed with the footers 115.

The studs 130, 185 may comprise, for example, a 2″×4″ pressure treated wood stud, an aluminum stud, a synthetic material stud, or the like. The studs 130 and/or 185 may be affixed to the stem wall 120 and/or pier 175 at a predetermined height 140 to create an observation area for detecting presence of termites. The predetermined height 140 may be, for example, about eight inches (8″) above the crawlspace floor.

The sill plate 160 may comprise, for example, a 2″×6″ pressure treated wood stud, an aluminum stud, a synthetic material stud, or the like.

The termite shields 135, 155, 180, may comprise an L-shaped metal flashing, or the like.

The insulation 150 may comprise, for example, a rigid Borate treated R-5 foam insulation board, or the like, which may be treated with pesticides to deter termites.

FIG. 2 shows a detailed view of a section of the stem wall 120 and the footer 115 of the crawlspace 105, including the stud 130, termite shield 135 and plastic sheet 125.

FIG. 3 shows a detailed view of a section of a pier 175 of the crawlspace 105 shown in FIG. 1, including the plastic sheet 125, termite shield 180 and stud 185.

FIG. 4 shows a top cross-section cut-away view of the pier 175 of the crawlspace 105 shown in FIG. 1, including the termite shield 180, stud 185 and an about forty-five degree)(45° bend in the termite shield 195.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a process for insulating a conditioned crawlspace beneath a building and protecting the building from termite infestation. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5, initially, a foundation (e.g., stem wall 120 and/or a pier 172) may be built in situ, such as, e.g., by pouring cement into a mold (Step 210). The crawlspace floor 110 may be covered with, e.g., four inches of coarse gravel 122 (Step 212). The coarse gravel 122 may then be covered with, e.g., a six mil (6 mil) polyethelene plastic sheeting 125 (Step 215). The plastic sheet 125 may be brought up the interior sides of the stem wall 120 and around the center piers 175 in the foundation (Step 220). Termite shields 135, 180 (e.g., a metal “L” flashing, which may be bent at 45°, as seen, e.g., in FIG. 4) may be attached to, for example, each of the studs 130, 185 (Step 222). Alternatively, the termite shields 135, 180 may be attached to the stem wall 120 and center pier 175, and the studs 130, 185 subsequently affixed to the termite shields 135, 180, stem wall 120 and center pier 175. The plastic sheet 125 may be brought behind the termite shield assembly 130/135 and/or 185/180, which may then be fastened to the stem wall 120 and/or pier 175 with, e.g., ramset fasteners at a predetermined height 140 (Step 225). The termite shields 135, 180 should be configured to hang out to the crawlspace 105 interior over the top (and/or bottom) of the studs 130, 185.

The insulation board 150 may then be positioned above the termite shield assembly 130/135 and fastened to the stem wall 120 above the termite shield assembly 130/135 (Step 230). The insulation board 150 should terminate at the top of the stem wall 120. After the board 150 is fastened to the stem wall 120, a metal flashing 155, 190 is installed on top of the stem wall 120 and board 150, and the piers 175, as shown in FIG. 1 (Step 235). Then, a sill plate 160 may be laid down (or installed) on top of the metal flashing 155, 190 (Step 240). An air seal may be provided between concrete areas and metal (Step 242). The sill plate 160 and metal flashings 155, 190, may then be fastened to the top of the stem wall 120 and/or piers 175 with, e.g., ramset fasteners.

Although the disclosure provides a number of examples of materials and dimensions that may be implemented within the scope and breadth of the disclosure, it is noted that other materials and dimensions may be implemented equally, without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. For instance, metal, plastic, fiberglass, or the like, materials may be used instead of, or in addition to the wood or manufactured wood components described herein.

While the disclosure has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure can be practiced with modifications in the spirit and scope of the appended claims. These examples given above are merely illustrative and are not meant to be an exhaustive list of all possible designs, embodiments, applications or modifications of the disclosure. 

1. A method for insulating a conditioned crawlspace beneath a building and protecting the building from termite infestation, the method comprising: covering a crawlspace floor with coarse gravel; and covering the coarse gravel with a polyethylene plastic sheeting, wherein the plastic sheet is brought up an interior side of a stem wall and around one or more piers in the foundation.
 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: bringing the plastic sheet behind a stud; and fastening the stud and the plastic sheet to the concrete stem wall with fasteners at a predetermined height from the crawlspace floor.
 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the stem wall area between the crawlspace floor and the bottom of the stud comprises an inspection area where termites attempting to climb up the stem wall can be easily identified.
 3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: affixing an L-shaped flashing to the stem wall, the L-shaped flashing being configured to hang out to the crawlspace interior over the top of the stud and prevent termites from moving up the stem wall or pier.
 4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising: attaching a Borate treated R-5 foam insulation board above the L-shaped flashing on the interior side of the stem wall, wherein the insulation board is configured to terminate at the top of the stem wall.
 5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: installing a metal flashing above the insulation board, wherein the metal flashing is installed along the entire length of the stem wall, on top of the stem wall.
 6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: installing a pressure treated sill plate on the top of the metal roll flashing, wherein the sill plate and metal roll flashing are attached to the top of the stem wall with fasteners.
 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the insulation board and the sill plate with metal roll flashing may serve as a second and third precaution against termite infestation.
 8. A system for insulating a conditioned crawlspace beneath a building and protecting the building from termite infestation, the system comprising: a crawlspace floor covered with coarse gravel; and a polyethylene plastic sheeting covering the coarse gravel, wherein the plastic sheet is brought up an interior side of a stem wall and around one or more piers in the foundation.
 9. The system according to claim 8, further comprising: a stud fastened to the stem wall, wherein a portion of the plastic sheet is placed between the stem wall and stud.
 10. The system according to claim 9, further comprising: an L-shaped flashing provided over the top of the stud and configured to hang out to the crawlspace interior, thereby preventing termites from moving up the stem wall (or pier).
 11. The system according to claim 10, further comprising: a Borate treated R-5 foam insulation board positioned above the L-shaped flashing on the interior side of the stem wall and attached to the stem wall, wherein the insulation board is configured to terminate at the top of the stem wall.
 12. The system according to claim 11, further comprising: a metal flashing that is installed above the insulation board, along the entire length of the stem wall, on top of the stem wall.
 13. The system according to claim 12, further comprising: a pressure treated sill plate installed on the of the metal roll flashing, wherein the sill plate and metal roll flashing are attached to the top of the stem wall with fasteners.
 14. A device for preventing termite infiltration into a building, the device comprising: a plastic sheet that covers a crawlspace floor and a portion of a stem wall; a stud that attaches to a portion of the plastic sheet and the stem wall; and a termite shield provided along length of the stud.
 15. The device according to claim 14, wherein the device comprises an L-shaped metal flashing.
 16. The device according to claim 15, further comprising: an insulation board that is attached to the stem wall above the stud, wherein the insulation board may terminate at an edge of the stem wall.
 17. The device according to claim 16, further comprising: an upper termite shield, which may be positioned above the insulation board. 